Veterans Corner Newsletter Hopi Veterans Services: “Putting Hopi & Tewa Veterans First”

Volume 4, Issue 6 June 12, 2013

Local Hopi School Students Receive “Hopi Code Talkers” Citizenship Awards

I had the honor to present the 2013 “Hopi Code Talkers” Citizenship Awards to local school students across the Hopi Reservation

during their award and promotion ceremonies this past May.

This was an idea that came to mind during my many airlift missions to foreign countries while in the Air Force. The children I met

and saw during my travels were just like our local children, happy and with many dreams yet to be fulfilled. But the take-away I

discovered was those children I met spoke their foreign language fluently. I felt I could combine the legacy of our ten Hopi Code

Talkers who used their top-secret native language successfully during World War II toward promoting our Hopi children to learn

and speak our Hopilavayi (language) fluently and create an award centered around citizenship qualities.

So this year, the Hopi Veterans Services sponsored the “Hopi Code Talkers” Citizenship Award and I asked the local schools for

their participation in selecting a young boy and a young girl in the 6th grade class who met the simple criteria of communication

skills, leadership qualities and citizenship attributes. I was glad a majority of the schools responded positively and provided the

names of their respective recipients. I then had the privilege of personally presenting the awards during the school’s awards ban-

quets or promotion ceremonies. The deserving students each received a “Hopi Code Talkers” certificate with pictures of the ten

Code Talkers. Additionally they also earned a Hopi Code Talker coin with an image of a Code Talker talking on a military radio

on one side of the coin and on the reserve side of coin a US and Hopi Flag with the words “Hopilavayi” on the bottom. The two

Hopi Junior High School recipients received a plaque and certificate from Alfred Lomahquahu, Commander, Lori Piestewa Post

#80.

Photos of the students and their proud parents are on page 3 of this issue. Photos were not available for Hopi Mission School,

Tracey Whitehair and Jacob Lim, and Hopi Junior High School, Joshua Lomayestewa and Shanice Sakeva.

Our program will continue this new tradition each school year and welcome any comments to improve the awards for our local

Hopi school students. The Hopi Veterans Services staff congratulates each of this years recipients and to all students who were

promoted and/or graduated from middle schools, junior highs, high schools and colleges. Best wishes to all as you continue on

your educational journeys to reach your goals and successes!

On June 19-20, 2013, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Office of Tribal Government Relations will host the Southwest

Region Veterans Benefits Summit for tribal leaders, Veterans, Veterans Service Providers, and Tribal Health Directors, in Tuba

City, Ariz. at the Moenkopi Legacy Inn, an enterprise of the Moenkopi Village Development corporation, on the Hopi Reservation.

This Summit provides an opportunity to network with and hear updates from VA leadership and subject matter experts, share best

practices and network with others who serve Veterans in Indian Country. More than twenty speakers and program representatives

will impart information that serves as an education session on VA benefits and services.

For more information about the VA, the Office of Tribal Government Relations, and the Southwest Region Summit, please visit

www.va.gov/tribalgovernment.

Conference registration is free. If you have questions about this Summit, please contact LoRae HoMana Pawiki, Tribal Govern-

ment Specialist – Southwest Region, at Lorae.Pawiki@va.gov or (928) 776-5306. The Summit will start at 8:00 a.m. on both days.

Mountain Standard Time will be observed.

Editors note: Hopi Senom Transit offers cost-free transportation for Veterans showing a valid VA Health ID card and/or military

retirement ID card. Contact their office at (928) 734-3232 or 3231 on daily schedules, times and departure locations.

Southwest Region Veterans Benefits Summit at Moenkopi Legacy Inn

VA Hires Over 1,600 Mental Health Professionals to Meet Goals Expands Access to Care and Outreach Efforts

Page 2

WASHINGTON – Today, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced that it has met the goal to hire 1,600 new mental

health professionals outlined in President Obama’s Aug. 31, 2012, Executive Order to Improve Access to Mental Health Services

for Veterans, Service Members, and Military Families.

“Meeting this hiring milestone significantly enhances our ability to improve access to care for those Veterans seeking mental health

services and demonstrates our continued commitment to the health and well-being of the men and women who have served the

Nation,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. “Meeting this goal is an important achievement, but we recognize that

we must continue to increase access to the quality mental health care Veterans have earned and deserve.”

As of May 31, 2013, VA has hired a total of 1,607 mental health clinical providers to meet the goal of 1,600 new mental health

professionals outlined in the Executive Order. Additionally, VA has hired 2,005 mental health clinical providers to fill existing

vacancies. VA has also hired 318 new peer specialists towards the specific goal of 800 peer specialists by Dec. 31, 2013 as out-

lined in the Executive Order. VA expects to meet that goal as well.

VA also recognizes that meeting the needs of Veterans and their families requires collaboration and partnership between VA, other

federal agencies, and local communities. “Locally-driven summits provide a well-established method to strengthen our community

partnerships, and they have been successful in support of VA’s goal to end homelessness among Veterans,” said Veterans Health

Administration, Undersecretary for Health, Dr. Robert Petzel. “The President is directing all VA health care systems nationwide to

conduct locally-driven Mental Health Summits to further engage with local community partners and nurture community engage-

ment to address the broad mental health needs of Veterans and their families.” Each VA health care system will reach out to rele-

vant Veteran Service Organizations, community based organizations, health care providers, and local governments to develop and

conduct the Summits.

VA provides a full range of comprehensive mental health services across the country. In Fiscal Year 2012, more than 1.3 million

Veterans received specialized mental health care from the VA. This number has risen each year from 927,052 in Fiscal Year 2006.

In addition to hiring more mental health professionals, VA is expanding the use of innovative technology to serve Veterans in rural

or underserved areas. VA expects to increase the number of Veterans receiving care from tele-mental health services in fiscal year

2013, and has increased the number of Vet Centers, which provide readjustment counseling and referral services from 233 in 2008

to 300 in 2012.

In November 2011, VA launched an award-winning, national public awareness campaign called Make the Connection, which is

aimed at reducing the stigma associated with seeking mental health care and informing Veterans, their families, friends, and mem-

bers of their communities about VA resources. More information on Make the Connection can be found at

www.maketheconnection.net.

Mental health professionals interested in seeking employment with the Department of Veterans Affairs can obtain information at

www.vacareers.va.gov. Veterans and their families interested in learning more about the mental health services provided by VA

can go to www.mentalhealth.va.gov.

Tanya Dooline, Veterans Service Officer, AZ DVS, will conduct VA benefits assistance for Veterans and Widows who reside on

or around the Hopi Reservation. Her next visit to Hopi will be on Thursday, June13, 2013, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. (MST), at

the Hopi Guidance Center. She will assist Veterans with VA compensation and pension applications and medical enrollments. To

better assist you in submitting VA claims, please bring copies of: DD Form 214 (military discharge); marriage certificate; social

security card for self, spouse, and children; birth certificate of self, spouse and children; divorce decrees; death certificates

(deceased Veterans); award letters from federal, state or tribal entities; and any other documentation as supporting evidence for VA

claims. Call Geno, Tara or Hanna at (928) 737-1834/1836 to make an appointment.

Veterans Benefits Service Officer to Assist Veterans and Widows on Hopi

Page 3 Local Hopi Students Receive “Hopi Code Talkers” Certificate of Citizenship

April Rose Tso

Moenkopi Day School Lakisha Berta Maire Tenorio

Moenkopi Day School Autumn Qumawunu

Hopi Day School

Kameron Honanie

Hopi Day School Faylene Rogers

Keams Canyon Elementary School

Marty Naha, Jr.

Keams Canyon Elementary School

Kianna Honyouti

First Mesa Elementary School Zachary Douma

First Mesa Elementary School Aubrey Kopelva

Second Mesa Day School

Jihad Nodman

Second Mesa Day School

No photo available

Hopi Mission School

Tracey Whitehair

Jacob Lim

Hopi Junior High School

Joshua Lomayestewa

Shanice Sakeva Congratulations to all 2013 Recipients!

Page 4

PHOENIX – Governor Jan Brewer today named Janson “Ted” Vogt as the new Director of the Arizona Department of Veterans’

Services (AZDVS).

“Ted’s military background and management experience make him uniquely-qualified for this position,” said Governor Brewer.

“As a veteran in his own right, Ted is a passionate advocate for our nation’s military men, women and families. He understands

their needs, but he also recognizes their value to our state and our communities. I’m confident Ted will be a tremendous asset to

the Department and a strong voice for Arizona veterans.”

Mr. Vogt is a veteran of the United States Air Force, where he worked as an intelligence officer and commanded a 26-person unit

responsible for providing counter-terrorism and threat information. While with the Air Force, Mr. Vogt served in Afghanistan dur-

ing Operation Enduring Freedom, and throughout the greater Middle East as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. His duties within the

Air Force included: Intelligence Briefer for the Secretary and Chief of Staff for the Air Force (The Pentagon – 2006); Acting

Flight Commander, 35th Operations Support Squadron (Misawa Air Base, Japan – 2004-‘06); Horned Owl Liaison Officer, Com-

bined Air Operations Center (Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar – 2004-‘05); and Intel Battle Captain, Combined Joint Task Force-180

(Bagram, Afghanistan – 2002-’03).

On a civilian basis, Mr. Vogt has been an Associate Attorney at the Law Offices of Gerald K. Smith and John C. Smith, PLLC,

since 2010. Earlier, he was an advertising account executive with Leo Burnett Company, Inc., in Chicago, Illinois (1998-’99); an

executive assistant for former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld (1997; 1999-2000), and served as a mergers and acquisitions

analyst for Broadview Associates, L.P., in Fort Lee, New Jersey (1995-’96).

Mr. Vogt has extensive public policy and legislative experience as an elected member of the Arizona House of Representatives

(2010-‘13). As a legislator, he was a strong supporter of veterans’ issues, and sponsored legislation that granted automatic in-state

tuition at Arizona’s public universities and community colleges to honorably-discharged veterans.

Mr. Vogt earned a law degree from the University of Arizona’s James E. Rogers College of Law (2010). He graduated from Yale

University with a bachelor’s in History (1995).

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer Announces Director of the Arizona Department of Veterans’ Services

Do you know a Veteran or are you a Veteran yourself? Good news! Solar Energy International is offering 100% tuition assistance

and career training in partnership with SEI's Veterans and Active Duty Training Outreach Program and the Colorado Department of

Labor.

In 2013, Solar Energy International's (SEI) full certificate training program, the SEI Solar Professionals Certificate Program, re-

ceived approval through the Colorado Department of Labor. With this approval, training funding was also unlocked for Veterans

seeking career training in the renewable energy sector through the Veterans Workforce Investment Program (VWIP).

The VWIP has been funded again this year for veterans in Colorado and many states throughout the country. VWIP funds can help

veterans attain training through certificate program and certifications in various sectors that would help veterans become more mar-

ketable.

Other states may also have VWIP funds in place and should contact SEI's Veteran Employment Specialist partner, Tony Hersh,

who will help you find your state / local representative and tuition assistance information for the VWIP program:

Tony Hersh

Veteran Employment Specialist

Frisco Workforce Center

Email: anthony.hersh@state.co.us

Phone: 970-668-5360

SEI's Solar Professionals Certificate Program Questions

More details specifically about SEI's technical training are available by talking with SEI Student Services: (970) 963-8855, exten-

sion 1.

100% Tuition Assistance for Veterans In Solar Renewal Energy Training

Page 5

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The Navajo Code Talkers are legendary. Then

there was Cpl. Ira Hamilton Hayes, the Pima Indian who became a symbol of

courage and patriotism when he and his fellow Marines raised the flag over Iwo

Jima in 1945.

Before World War II and in the decades since, tens of thousands of American

Indians have enlisted in the Armed Forces to serve their country at a rate much

greater than any other ethnicity.

Yet, among all the monuments and statues along the National Mall in Washing-

ton, D.C., not one stands in recognition.

A grassroots effort is brewing among tribes across the country to change that, while Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii has

introduced legislation that would clear the way for the National Museum of the American Indian to begin raising private funds for a

memorial.

"This is not a political gamble for anyone, and it's not politically threatening for anyone," said Jefferson Keel, a retired Army officer

and president of the National Congress of American Indians. "This is something that both sides of the aisle can get behind and sup-

port, because it's not going to cost a lot of money for the country. It's just something that needs to be done."

The push for a memorial can be traced back to the 1980s when the well-known Three Soldiers sculpture was unveiled near the Vi-

etnam Veterans Memorial. Depicted are three American soldiers: one white, one black and a Hispanic.

During the Vietnam era, the federal government says more than 42,000 Native Americans served in the military and 90 percent of

those service members were volunteers.

"I've come across veterans from throughout the whole country, from the East Coast all the way to California, and a lot of Indian

who people believe that there should be something on the National Mall. We're not there, we haven't been recognized," said Steven

Bowers, a Vietnam veteran and member of the Seminole tribe in Florida.

Bowers is spearheading an effort to gain support from the nation's tribes to erect a soldier statue on the National Mall in recognition

of American Indians, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians who have served over the years.

His proposal calls for placing it prominently at the entrance of a planned education center at the Vietnam memorial — where mil-

lions of people visit each year — rather than at the Museum of the American Indian.

Numerous tribal organizations, including the National Congress of American Indians, have signed on in support of the grassroots

effort, and Bowers is hopeful the legislation introduced this week by Schatz doesn't complicate matters.

Jeff Begay, a Navajo and Vietnam veteran whose grandfather also served as a scout for the U.S. Army, said he prefers a memorial

close to the heart of the National Mall.

"We feel that we don't want to be represented on the museum property because we're not relics anymore," he said. "We're not arti-

facts to be observed. We are real soldiers, we contributed to defense of this country, and we need to be honored in the Mall area."

John Garcia, deputy assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, said he's been meeting with Native American

leaders and believes that a memorial "is a real possibility" if land is located and private funds are raised.

Garcia estimated there are about 200,000 Native American veterans, and a memorial dedicated to them would be appropriate since

they have been involved in every American war from the American Revolution to recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Supporters of the two efforts agree that a memorial in the capital city would help to raise awareness of the role Native veterans have

played in the country's history.

"We're trying to instill pride in our heritage as original inhabitants of this land," Begay said. "We don't want our children to grow up

with that concept that we're insignificant. We want to instill in them that they're important members of the American community,

and they should be proud of that."

Native American Veterans Push for Recognition By Susan Montoya Bryan, Associated Press

Page 6

Jun 14 Farmington Vet Center 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Jun 19 Moenkopi Legacy Inn 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Jun 20 Moenkopi Legacy Inn 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Jun 25 Window Rock Flea Market 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Jun 27 Ganado Flea Market 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

* Schedule according to local time and subject to change*

***Please bring a copy of your DD-214’s***

For more information call (928) 499-7759 or (928) 899-6483. www.vetcenter.va.gov or 1-877-WAR-VETS

Individual/group counseling, couple/martial/family counseling, sexual trauma/harassment counseling, bereavement

counseling, substance abuse counseling and/or referrals, VA information, readjustment counseling and PTSD counseling.

This was the resolution adopted by the Continental Congress on June 14, 1777. The res-

olution was made following the report of a special committee which had been assigned

to suggest the flag’s design.

A flag of this design was first carried into battle on September 11, 1777, in the Battle of

the Brandywine. The American flag was first saluted by foreign naval vessels on Febru-

ary 14, 1778, when the Ranger, bearing the Stars and Stripes and under the command of

Captain Paul Jones, arrived in a French port. The flag first flew over a foreign territory

in early 1778 at Nassau, Bahama Islands, where Americans captured a British fort.

Observance of the adoption of the flag was not soon in coming, however. Although there are many claims to the first official ob-

servance of Flag Day, all but one took place more than an entire century after the flag’s adoption in 1777.

The first claim was from a Hartford, Conn., celebration during the first summer of 1861. In the late 1800s, schools all over the Unit-

ed States held Flag Day programs to contribute to the Americanization of immigrant children, and the observance caught on with

individual communities.

The most recognized claim, however, comes from New York. On June 14, 1889, Professor George Bolch, principal of a free kin-

dergarten for the poor of New York City, had his school hold patriotic ceremonies to observe the anniversary of the Flag Day reso-

lution. This initiative attracted attention from the State Department of Education, which arranged to have the day observed in all

public schools thereafter.

Another claim comes from Philadelphia. In 1893, the Society of Colonial Dames succeeded in getting a resolution passed to have

the flag displayed on all of the city’s public buildings. Elizabeth Duane Gillespie, a direct descendant of Benjamin Franklin and the

president of the Colonial Dames of Pennsylvania, that same year tried to get the city to call June 14 Flag Day. Resolutions by wom-

en were not granted much notice, however, and it was not until May 7, 1937, that Pennsylvania became the first state to establish the

June 14 Flag Day as a legal holiday. Flag Day is a nationwide observance today, but Pennsylvania is the only state that recognizes it

as a legal holiday.

Bernard J. Cigrand, a school teacher in Waubeka, Wisconsin, reportedly spent years trying to get Congress to declare June 14 as a

national holiday. Although his attempts failed, the day was widely observed. “Father of Flag Day” honors have been given to Wil-

liam T. Kerr, who was credited with founding the American Flag Day Association in 1888 while still a schoolboy in Pittsburgh,

Pennsylvania.

Both President Wilson, in 1916, and President Coolidge, in 1927, issued proclamations asking for June 14 to be observed as the

National Flag Day. But it wasn’t until August 3, 1949, that Congress approved the national observance, and President Harry Truman

signed it into law.

Mobile Vet Center—Counseling Services for Veterans

Origin of U.S. Flag Day—June 14th